Protecting guests from harmful web TV content: Who’s responsible?

As hotels offer Internet access to guests via room TVs, they will also need to make content filtering and protection a part of the service. Nick Lamidey (left) of content filtering software experts SurfControl looks at the issues

As the in-room TV becomes a conduit not only for programmes and films, but also for Internet access, hotels need to be aware of the issues this raises in terms of delivering a family friendly experience. In the same way that access to adult movies is blocked, hotels will need filtering and blocking mechanisms in place for adult content on the Internet.

As new technology is moving into the hotel bedroom, hotels need to understand the issues involved in providing a safe Internet experience for all of their guests, and crucially, their responsibility in providing that safe experience. Guests should be able to enjoy the same content management options available to the home, educational, and corporate Internet users, and hotels need to be able to tailor their web offering to more precisely meet the needs of their guests.

The access problem
As Internet access becomes more prevalent in the home, school, and the workplace, the hotel industry has taken the opportunity to deliver the same Web access to guests. With good reason: in this highly competitive market, hotels are constantly looking for value added services which differentiate them from their competition.

So why will content filtering become a critical issue? There are two key reasons. The first is that guests – especially parents — will start to demand the same filtering and access control services that they have on domestic PCs, to prevent misuse of the Internet through the TV. What’s more, they will lobby hoteliers to deliver those filtering services, simply because the TV in the bedroom is the point of access to the Web.

The second reason is that the hotelier could be held legally responsible for failing to shield guests against libellous or damaging material accessed through the TV. The precedents for this type of case have already been set in corporate America, where companies have been successfully sued by employees for failing to block access to inappropriate content. And closer to home, there have been many high-profile cases in the UK where lack of Internet filtering capability has caused embarrassment, damage to reputations, and in some cases litigation – examples include Orange, Ford, and Royal & Sun Alliance.

As an example, take the scenario where Mum and Dad are down in the leisure suite or bar, relaxing away from the children who are in the hotel bedroom, and surfing the Internet via the TV. Those parents need to be confident that their children are not able to access adult or other unsuitable content.

No access, or access on demand?
On the other side of the coin, how does the establishment serve the needs of guests who wish to have access to content that would be unsuitable for children? Should their access be restricted? The key issue is that the hotel needs to be able to offer content filtering and blocking to those guests who demand it, giving each guest the ability to personalise the Internet experience according to their needs.

In order to provide the guests with the ability to customise content, investment in a content filtering solution is the first essential stage. This of course creates a real value-added business opportunity for forward-thinking hotels to offer customisable, parental controls to ensure safe web access.

The latest generation of Internet filtering software provides full control and management of the sites that web users can visit, with different levels of access which can be stratified, and deployed according to guests’ needs. Each request for a web page can be monitored and filtering can be applied. A profile of filtering can be applied to the request that meets the requirements of the guest. For example if parental controls are requested, access to inappropriate material is denied. However, if no filtering is requested than access to adult material may be allowed.

What’s more, the filtering software is backed up by a constantly-updated list of websites, all indexed and categorised – not just into the obvious groups but also into less obvious categories such as political sites and even chatrooms, as these have been a key focus of media attention following concerns over paedophiles lurking in otherwise innocent chat forums and “grooming” children. And updates of the filtering software’s websites database can be done daily, to ensure optimum protection.

As Internet access moves into the hotel bedroom, the responsibility for delivering managed, safe access will rest firmly on the point of access – on the hotel itself. That means content filtering and internet access control will need to be a key part of any package offered by the hotel.

Deploying filtering: a case study on LodgeNet
In the US, Internet filtering specialist SurfControl has teamed up with LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation, a specialist provider of entertainment and media services to the hospitality sector. The partnership delivers centralised, managed control of TV-based web surfing for hotels and guests.

It means that both hotels and their guests can customise the web content accessible through LodgeNet’s Internet on TV service. This means guests will enjoy the same content management options available to home and corporate Internet users, and hotels will be able to tailor their web offerings to more precisely meet the needs of their guests. SurfControl’s filtering software is integrated with LodgeNet’s broadband, interactive digital system, and provides a “family-safe” experience for guests as well as giving hotels more precise control over guest-related products and services that appear on their websites.

The SurfControl-enhanced system is being rolled out at various LodgeNet-served hospitality brands over the next three years. LodgeNet-served brands include Embassy Suites, Harrah’s, Holiday Inn, Inter-Continental, La Quinta Inns, Omni, Radisson, Ritz-Carlton, and Wingate Inns, and many others.

LodgeNet sees the deployment of Web filtering as giving hotel guests the power to choose the type of Internet content they want access to in their rooms. “We’re pleased to enter this agreement with SurfControl as we continue providing hotels and their guests with more of what they want, when they want it,” said Scott Petersen, president and CEO for LodgeNet. “Through this relationship, LodgeNet adds even more value to its Internet on TV service by giving users the highest level of personal choice.”

For further details see the SurfControl website

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